McCann

Web posted on: Thursday, August 06, 1998 4:49:01 PM

From Correspondent Ron Tank

HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- She hails from the land of grunge, but Lila McCann is pure country. And she's currently riding a streak of fame that is taking her from the top of record charts, to movie soundtracks, to a television appearance. She even joined in on country superstar George Strait's Monster tour, which kicked off in March.

Perhaps most amazing of all, the Seattle native is all of 16 years old.

McCann became the latest country sensation, following in the footsteps of other teen acts like LeAnn Rimes, after her album, "Lila" (on the Asylum Records label) went gold with hits like "I Wanna Fall In Love." She already has three videos under her belt.

Hear a clip of "I Wanna Fall in Love" Sound clip courtesy Asylum Records Audio clip: 139k MPEG-3 Audio clip: 191k WAV Video clip: 1Mb QuickTime File format info Please enable JavaScript

'You don't know what love is'

McCann credits her early success with an early start in music.

"I started singing when I was four," she says. "After I kinda grew into it and got used to it, I started singing (in public) every weekend practically."

McCann is readying for her junior year in high school while working on her sophomore album release, which will once again feature some tunes with romantic themes.

"People say to me 'You're 16, you don't know what love is. How can you sing a song about love?'" McCann says. "And I'm thinking, 'You were 16. Don't you remember? Hello?'"

McCann is warming up the concert crowds for country veterans like George Strait

Fame coming fast

One of her songs, "To Get Me To You," was recently featured in the film, "Hope Floats." A video for that song is in the works.

McCann is also readying for her acting debut this fall when she will appear on an episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger."

While dealing with this newfound fame, McCann is also dealing with growing up.

On having braces: "I wish they'd come off tomorrow, but it is not gonna be that soon."

On driving a car: "I don't have a license yet. I know that is really sad. But I'm working on it."

On balancing work and play: "I am home most of the time this summer, so I can go cruising with my friends and stuff like that."

McCann's parents are glad she still acts like a kid

'She's still a kid'

Her mom says she's happy her daughter is not falling into fame too fast.

"She wants to stay in school and hang with her friends and I love it," says Gretchen McCann. "I love it that she's still a kid."

Meanwhile, Lila McCann says she doesn't see the need to compare herself to that other teen sensation, LeAnn Rimes.

"Really the only thing we have in comparison is our age," says McCann. "The music is different, our lifestyles are completely different."